Train-a-way



NOV. 30, 1954 eg EN 2,695,830

TRAIN-A-WAY Filed June 25, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet l i a W 3 pum- 6 INVENTOR 1 f l! {1 W W BY wa ATTORNEYS Nov. 30, 1954 Filed June 25, 1951 D. M C. ODEN TRAIN-A-WAY 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 I L 1: c I J Z I:

I: n I, ig' fif-a 4 lllu" 0\\\ ZNVENTOR BY W WW ATTORNEYS Nov. 30, 1954 D. M c. ODEN 2,695,830

TRAIN-A-WAY Filed June 25, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR BY W Wm ATTORNEYS United States Patent TRAIN-A-WAY Delk McCorkle Oden, Carlisle, Pa.

Application June 25, 1951, Serial No. 233,391

4 Claims. (Cl. 312-241) The invention relates to a foldable platform for toy trains, tracks and other accessories.

In the use of toy trains it has been necessary to set up the tracks and all of the various accessories each time that the train was to be used. In some instances a permanent installation was made upon a platform, but this necessitated the use of a platform of very large area which was unwieldy to handle, and frequently incapable of storage in the normal facilities of a home. Even where a permanent installation Was made'it' was necessary to remove the train from the tracks and store the various cars if the platform was to be stored away. The track being permanently attached to the platform accumulated dust which necessitated frequent cleaning or resulted in inefiicient operation of-the train.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a relatively large platform upon which the track for a toy train may be permanently mounted, which platform may be folded up into a compact closed unit which may be easily handled and stored in a'relatively small space.

Another object of the invention is to provide such a platform which when folded forms a completely closed box or chest in which the train may be left upon the tracks and all of the equipment may be maintained substantially dust -free during storage.

A further object of the invention is to provide a platform of this nature which has interfitting sections when opened up, so as to provide a very rigid and stable base, and which is provided with means for guiding the track sections into interfitting relation when the various sections of the platform are fitted together.

Other objects of the invention will become apparent from the following description of one practical embodiment thereof, when taken in conjunction with the drawings which accompany, and form a part of, this specification.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a perspective view of a platform embodying the principles of the present invention shown in its folded position for storage; 1

Figure 2 is a vertical transverse section through the structure shown in Figure 1 taken substantially on the line 22 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a vertical longitudinal section taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary horizontal section taken on the line 44 of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a top plan view of the platform opened up for use;

Figure 6 is a section through the platform in open position and is taken on the line 6-6 of Figure 5;

Figure 7 is a partial section through the open platform taken on the line 77 of Figure 6; and,

Figure 8 is a fragmentary perspective view of one corner of the base platform and a portion of one of the side panels showing in particular one of the grooves for receiving a guide rail attached to the top portion of the platform.

Referring to the drawings in detail, the invention in general comprises a platform of several parts, having side and end panels, all of which are hingedly connected together so as to be foldable into a rectilinear chest or box. The several portions of the platform when opened up interfit with one another to form a continuous base upon which the track and accessories of a toy train outfit may be permanently mounted.

2,695,830 Patented Nov. 30, 1954 The platform is composed of two sections, a bottom section 1 and a top section 2. The two sections are connected by means of guide rails 3, which are secured at spaced points along one side edge of the bottom and top sections of the platform. The guide rails are attached to the top section of the platform by means of hinges 4, in such manner that when the top section is swung about the hinges to lie in the same plane with the guide rails the ends of the rails and the edge of the top section of the platform are in abutting relation. In other words, the rails and top section will have their respective inner surfaces in planar alignment. The bottom platform section 1 is of thicker material than the guide rails and the top platform section 2, and is provided with grooves 5 extending inwardly from its side edge adjacent the guide rails 3. Grooves 5 are of a depth equal to the thickness of the guide rails, and are of such width as to slidingly receive the guide rails when the platform is opened up for use. The grooves extend inwardly from the side edge of the bottom platform a distance equal to the length of the guide rails, so that when the guide rails slide into the grooves the rails will completely fill the grooves and the edge of the top section of the platform will abut the edge of the bottom section of the platform. This will position the track-receiving surfaces of the respective platform sections in the same horizontal plane. The guide rails serve to align the two sections both horizontally and vertically so that their surfaces form a continuation of one another.

The bottom section 1 is provided with suitable wheels 6 so that the platform may be readily moved from place to place. The top section is provided with handles 7 along its free edge which facilitates opening and closing the platform, and the handles are of such size that when the platform is opened for use they rest upon the fioor and support the outer end of the top section and hold it level with the bottom section.

The connections between the guide rails and the bottom platform section are disengageable. The connections are formed by U-shaped eye members 8, mounted near the open ends of each of the grooves 5, and hooks 9 connected to each of the guide rails 3. Hooks 9 are formed of strap metal and have their shanks 10 screwed, or otherwise fastened, to the bottoms of channels 11 formed in the undersides of the guide rails 3. These channels are centrally positioned transversely of the rails and extend the full length of the rails. The free ends of the metal straps are reversely bent to form the bights of the hooks to engage the eye members 8 when the guide rails are in vertical position, as they will be when the platform is folded up for storage.

To each side edge of the bottom platform section 1 a side panel 12 is hingedly secured. To each end of the bottom platform section an end panel 13 is connected by means of hinges. The respective side and end panels are adapted to swing about their hinges to lie with their outer edges resting upon the floor when the platform is in use. When the platform is folded up the side and end panels are swung upwardly to occupy positions normal to the plane of the bottom platform section, and are held in this position by means of hooks and eyes 14 and 15 respectively.

A113 desired arrangement of track may be set up upon the two sections 1 and 2 of the platform, and the track may be permanently secured to these sections. In setting up the track it must be borne in mind that two adjacent sections of the track, such as indicated at 16 and 17 in Figure 5 of the drawings, must be positioned with their respective ends flush with the respective side edges of the two platform sections so that when the platform is set up for use the two sections of track will be joined. It is customary for the track sections of toy trains to be formed with a hollow rail upon which the train will ride, and each section of the track is provided with pins at one end of the rail, which project outwardly beyond the end of the rail, to fit within the hollow rails of the next adjacent track section to hold the adjacent sections in proper alignment. When the platform of the present invention is opened up for use and the guide rails 3 slide into the grooves 5, the end sections of track on platform sections 1 and 2 will be moved horizontally toward one another and the proper connection between the track sections will be made automatically.

Any of the usual toy accessories such as semaphores, water tanks, stations, et cetera may be permanently mounted on the sections of the platform as desired.

In setting up this device for use the top section of the platform is lifted by means of the handles 7 and the top is swung through an arc of 90 degrees about the hinges 4. The side and end panels are opened outwardly by releasing the hook and eye connections and swinging them downwardly around their hinges. The top and guide rails 3 are then swung through an arc of 90 degrees about the hinge connection formed by the eye members 8 and hooks 9, so that the inner surfaces of the top section and guide rails lie in the plane of the upper surface of the bottom platform section 1. At this point the handles 7 Will be resting upon the floor. The top section of the platform is then pushed horizontally toward the bottom section and the guide rails slide into the grooves in the bottom section until the edge of the top section abuts the edge of the bottom section of the platform. It will be noted that the hooks 9 move away from the eye members 8 as the two sections of the platform approach one another. It will be noted also from Figure 6 of the drawings that the side panel 12 adjacent the hinge connection between the bottom platform section and the guide rails has its hinge connection to the bottom section sufficiently low so that when it is opened outwardly it lies beneath the top platform section.

When the device is to be stored away the train is moved onto a portion of the track which is fixed to the bottom section of the platform, and the top section of the platform is then moved outwardly away from the bottom section so that the guide rails slide out of the grooves and the hooks 9 re-engage the eye members 8. The various parts are then swung upwardly on their respective hinges, the side and end panels fastened in upright position by means of the hooks and eyes 14 and 15, and the top section of the platform is closed. The device may then be moved on its casters to any desired storage point.

It will be seen that all of the equipment is enclosed within the chest formed by the folded platform and will be kept free from dust and all of the parts of the equipment are in one place when it is desired to use them.

While in the above one practical embodiment of the invention has been described and illustrated, it will be understood that this is merely by way of example and that the structure may take many forms within the scope of the appended claims.

Therefore, I claim:

1. In a toy train platform foldable into a box to house a train and track, a pair of platform sections which are congruent and adapted to occupy positions in edge abutment with their top surfaces in the same plane and one above the other in spaced relation to form top and bottom panels for the box, guide rails hingedly connected at one end to one edge of one of said sections, the other section having grooves perpendicular to an edge thereof and opening to saidedge to slideably receive the guide rails, a hook on each of said guide rails near the end opposite the hinge, an eye near the open end of each of said grooves to be engaged by said hooks when said guide rails slide outwardly in said grooves to form a hinge connection between said guide rails and the section having said grooves, and panels hingedly connected to the side edges of one of said sections to form side anlgl end closure panels when the platform is folded into a ox.

2. In a toy train platform as claimed in claim 1, the platform section having the grooves forming the bottom of the box and'being thicker than the othersaid section forming the top, the combined thickness of the top-forming section and the side forming panel adjacent the guide rails being equal to the thickness of said bottom-forming section whereby the surfaces of the two sections will be horizontal and level when the sections are in abutting relation.

3. In a toy train platform foldable into a box to house a train and track, a pair of platform sections which are congruent and adapted to occupy positions in edge abutment and one above the other in spaced relation to form top and bottom panels for the box, the bottomforming sections having grooves in its upper surface perpendicular to an edge thereof and opening to said edge, guide rails slidable in said grooves with each having a hook near its inner end, an eye near the open end of each of said grooves in the path of movement of said hooks when the rails are moved outwardly of the grooves to be engaged by said hooks to form hinge connections between said bottom-forming section and said guide rails, said guide. rails having their ends opposite the hooks hingedly connected to an edge of the topforming section, said top-forming section having a thickness equal to the depth of the grooves in said bottomforming section, and panels connected to the sides and edges of said bottom-forming section to form side and end panels for said box, said panel connected to the edge of said bottom-forming section having the grooves being of a thickness which when added to the thickness of the top-forming section equals the thickness of the bottom-forming section, whereby the top surfaces of the top and bottom panels will lie in the same plane when the guide rails are moved into the grooves and the top-forming section and the panel adjacent the grooves are rotated about their respective hinge connections.

4. In a toy train platform as claimed in claim 3, means for releaseably holding said panels vertically with respect to said bottom-forming section.

References Cited in-the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 824,434 OKeefe June 26, 1906 2,218,256 Bechtel Oct. 15, 1940 2,451,763 Misko Oct. 19, 1948 2,556,360 Clemons June 12, 1951 

